Conceptualizing an athlete support ecosystem for women in professional team sport

The expanse of women's professional team sports has burgeoned in the last ten years. The inroads made by women's leagues have raised questions about how to equitably and sustainably support, finance, and manage and foster the growth and development of women athletes. Women's leagues have unique characteristics that warrant recognition and positioning which are different from their counterpart men's leagues and enable gender specific value creation. However, the development of many women's leagues, both stand alone and those that share league governing bodies with the men's leagues, have positioned women in precarious and unsustainable employment condition with little consideration of gender relevant work conditions, culture and safety, career pathways and representation. We argue that an alternative framework for women's leagues, that attends to the gendered needs of women athletes, can foster equitable approaches that support sustainable practice and better employment outcomes. In this paper we propose a gendered conceptual framework, termed a Women Athlete Support Ecosystem, as a holistic way to enhance professional team athlete support and development for women. Drawing on literature and framework analysis we re-frame a socio-ecological model to consider a feminist intersectional approach proposing four key areas: individual and sustainable care; interdependence of athlete wellbeing; organizational practices; and community connection. Our approach to athlete support and development incorporates sport as community, and concepts embodied in sustainability, flourishing, wellbeing, and care.